Joey's War
by mr. arlington
Summary: Father has taken over America. Wally and the rest of Sector V are long dead. Now it's up to Joey Beatles and his rebel friends to defeat Father and restore freedom. So forget Wally. This is Joey's War.
1. Remnants

Chapter 1: Remnants

"Remember, my children. Father is always there to help you. Father loves you, and he always will."

A short boy with spiky blonde hair glared angrily at the giant LCD screen atop the Wetzler building. Father had finally concluded his over rehearsed and stilted speech, and his face was now replaced by an ad for Rainbow Monkies. The police that had been standing at attention for the past ten minutes relaxed and went back to their mindless tasks.

"Right, Father. And I love you too," scoffed the boy. He longed to smash that giant screen to pieces. But doing that wouldn't be the smartest idea, considering the cops here would shoot him in an instant. He left with a sigh. It was hard for him to believe the world had changed so much in just a few years. Cleveland used to be a relatively beautiful place. Now it looked like hell. All of the buildings of the new, bustling "uptown"with it's rich, fat cat tycoons, were beautiful. But the rest of Cleveland, where 50 of the public lived, was essentially one giant ghetto. Everything had changed since Father had taken over.

He pulled his dark blue hood over his head and hurriedly left uptown. If he stuck around too long, some cop might harass him for dirtying up the clean streets. He preferred the ghetto anyway. He knew the entire place like the back of his hand. And the people there were actually human, with fears and hopes and dreams. Not like those rich bastards of uptown, who never knew a moment's pain or a day's hard work. He hated those bastards.

"Now, come on, babe, there's no reason to be such a prude," giggled a drunk cop near the edge of uptown. He was trying in vain seduce a cute rich girl that had wandered into the ghetto. He grabbed her by the shoulders and tried to kiss her, with poor success. _Dumb bitch_, thought the boy. _What the hell is a rich girl like her doing in the ghetto? She can't handle herself here!_

"Please, just let me go! I've got to deliver something for my boss," she pleaded.

"Really? I've got a package I want do deliver, too," he smirked. Now _that_ was a crappy pickup line. He pulled her off into an alley, so the whole rape thing would be slightly less obvious. The boy followed them, careful not to make any noise. The cop threw the girl by her long blonde hair into a corner. She sank to the ground.

"Oh god, please, don't!" the girl cried. Tears were pouring down her face. _She can't be more than two years older than me, _ thought the boy. Well, now he was pissed. Nothing was worse than someone roughing up a helpless girl. His brother had taught him that.

The cop had started unbuttoning his shirt. Before he was halfway through, the boy tackled him from behind and knocked him into the wall. The cop turned around and threw a punch, but missed by a mile. He was overweight and old, in his late forties. The man didn't have a chance. The boy kicked the cop in his stomach. The cop knelt to the ground, clutching himself. His face was wide open, and the boy sank his fist into it. The cop fell to the ground, and the boy kicked him repeatedly, the ribs, the face, the crotch, anywhere his foot could land. He picked up a lid from a garbage can and smashed it into the cop's bloody face over and over again. The boy finally stopped and sat down, panting.

"You all right?" he asked, glancing at the terrified, but very cute, blonde girl.

"F-fine, thanks," she replied, gazing nervously at the still form of her assailant. "Is he...?"

"Hell, I don't know. And I'm not bothering to check, either." It started to rain. The boy pushed his hair out of his eyes and got up to leave.

"Wait. What's your name?" she asked.

The boy froze. Could he trust her? Eh, didn't make much of a difference anyway. "I'm Joey.  
Beatles."

It took a moment for his last name to sink in. Her eyes grew wide once she recognized the last name. "Beatles?" she asked, her voice barely above a whisper.

"Yeah. Well, I gotta go. Plenty of other dimwitted babes I need to save," he muttered.

"Don't leave yet! I haven't even gotten a chance to thank you. Let me treat you to a cup of coffee, or something," she said.

Joey eyed her warily. It could be a trap. "All right, but I get to pick the place. You know a place called Zanzibar's?" he asked.

"No. But you can lead the way, I guess," she replied, reaching out her hand. Joey glanced at it and then moved past her, ignoring it. The woman drew her hand back and gave a little laugh. She turned to follow him.

Zanzibar's wasn't much. But it was warm, cozy, and considerably more friendly than many of the other establishments in the ghetto. Joey picked a table in the corner, and ordered some coffee. He pulled off his hood, showing his rugged, but handsome face. His new friend let out a small gasp.

"You look just like him!" she squealed. Okay, now Joey was relieved. If this chick was out to get him, she wouldn't be squealing with glee because he looked like his brother.

"How observant," he muttered dryly. "So, tell me, what's your name, my damsel in distress?"

"Oh, I'm sorry, I completely forgot! I'm such a ditz!" she laughed. _Got that right_, thought Joey.

"I'm Jessica. I was delivering this parcel for my boss when that cop tried to, well, you know. My boss is an inventor, and he was sending one of his new gizmos to a plant in uptown. He thinks they'd be interested in it.

"You look just like him," she repeated, whispering this time. "You're his brother, aren't you? I remember that he had a brother."

"Yeah, I'm Wally's brother," he sighed. "Did you know my brother, or something?"

"Not really. I mean, he was about seven years older than me. I do remember he was one of the top Kids Next Door agents though," she said in a hushed voice, looking around to see if anyone was eavesdropping.

"Relax. This place is safe. No one's going to care if you love my big brother," he said in a mock assuring voice. A waitress deposited their coffees on their table and left. There was a long silence that Jessica seemed to find uncomfortable.

"You know, you're brother's a hero, even to some of the uptowners. Not all of us like Father, you know," Jessica smiled.

"Thanks," he sighed. What, did she think he was five? Was that statement supposed to brighten up his day?

"Why were you in the ghetto, anyway? Doesn't your boss live in uptown?" asked Joey.

"He certainly has enough money to. But for some reason he prefers to live in the ghetto. Weird, huh?" she laughed.

"Not really. I wouldn't live in uptown if you paid me. But I guess it's just different for some people." He drained his cup of coffee and got up to leave. "Well, thanks for the coffee. I've got to be headin' out."

She looked a little disappointed as he left. _Probably expected me to tell her some terrific stories about my big brother. Well, forget it, babe. I'm not in the mood for that. _He walked nonchalantly through the rain. He wasn't in a terrible hurry to get back home. After a few blocks, he reached an old two story brick building. Instead of going through the front, he climbed up the fire escape and hopped through the broken window.

"BOO!"

Joey jumped about two feet and threw a punch at his assailant. The spiky brown haired youth dodged it and fell on the ground laughing. "Now _that_ was priceless!"

"Was it worth getting your teeth knocked out?" asked Joey. He launched himself at his attacker and the two wrestled on the ground. A pretty girl with long, braided brown hair jumped down from the rafters, landing on Joey and the other boy, knocking the wind out of them and stopping the fight. She jumped off and laughed at the two boys.

"Still as idiotic as ever. What took you so long, Joey? The speech was done a long time ago. Did a cop give you some trouble?" she asked.

"I bet he found a pretty girl to talk to," taunted the other boy, running a hand over his spiky brown hair. "Isn't that right, Joey?"

"Shuddup, Zak," growled Joey.

"Look, he's blushing! He did find a pretty girl! Oh, man, Katie's not gonna be happy about this!" Zak exclaimed.

"What the hell is that supposed to mean!" shouted Joey. He lunged at him again, but Zak nimbly dodged him and jumped downstairs, landing on the couch below, almost crushing the person sleeping on it.

The brown haired girl sighed. "If he keeps doing that he's going to totally ruin the couch. And it's not in great shape as it is."

"I'm gonna knock his block off," growled Joey. Geez, best friends could be so annoying sometimes.

"So, tell me, _did_ you find a pretty girl to talk to?" she asked, fixing him with her piercing stare. She had these unique green eyes that were both terrifying and beautiful at the same time. They were commonly referred to by the gang as "tiger eyes," which was also the gang's nickname for her. No one could stare into those things and lie. It was physically impossible.

"Well, yeah. But I was helping her!" he added, seeing the look on her face. "She was going to get raped by this drunk cop!"

"What's her name?" she asked cooly.

"Jessica, but that's not the point!" he pleaded. "Jade, come on, you know I'm not lying to you."

"True. But Katie doesn't know that," she grinned wickedly.

"What is it with you people!" he shouted. "Why is it that you imbeciles think I have the slightest attraction to her? Why? Why!"

"I dunno. What do you think, Katie?" asked Jade, glancing behind Joey. He turned around slowly to find a girl with long platinum blonde hair and violet eyes staring at him.

"Uh, hi Joey," she mumbled, glancing at his feet. "Just wanted to...say hi." Embarrassed, she headed back down the stairs to her room.

"Awkward," commented Jade.

"You little bitch!" whispered Joey. "I can't believe you did that!"

"Well, it wasn't my intention, though I'm certainly glad it happened. Maybe this will speed things along."

"Speed what along!" he exclaimed. Jade merely shook her head and gave him a pitying look. She headed downstairs to what served as the living room, dining room, and kitchen of the building. In other words, she went down to the first floor. Joey followed her. At that moment, he hated everything about Jade, from her terrifying eyes to her tank top to her torn, faded bellbottoms. And that annoying, swishing braid of hers. Damn, was that thing annoying.

Their home certainly wasn't much. It was fairly spacious, considering there was almost nothing in it. The concrete first floor had a stove and a microwave shoved in a corner way in the back. There was an old TV in the middle of the room, and a worn out couch directly in front of it. On the couch was a snoozing teen wearing an old Guns N Roses sweatshirt and sunglasses. Past the couch was a hallway that led to Katie and Jade's room.

"So tell me, did Father have anything interesting to say? Or did you waste over an hour for nothing?" asked Jade.

"He didn't waste it. He got to bang a pretty girl. If you ask me, that's not a waste," said Zak.

"Enough already! Would you guys just lay off! Besides, she was a real ditz anyway. Total and complete Barbie Doll," he spat, acting more bitter than he really was.

"Sounds like an uptowner. What was a cop trying to rape an uptowner for?" asked Katie, finally back to her normally spunky self. "Was he on crack?"

"Just drunk," replied Joey, taking a sip of some of the tomato soup Katie was making.

"Get your head out of the pot, you'll get your hair all over it!" admonished Katie, smacking him upside his spiky blonde head. He pulled his head out and grumbled.

"This is fucking ridiculous. The cops are getting worse every second. We've got to put a stop to this, now," growled Zak. He had that look in his eye again. While Joey was no one to mess with when angry, Zak was far, far worse. He was getting angry more frequently too. Just the mention of cops got him angry, and for good reason.

"We nearly got killed last time, Zak. Yeah, we took out some cops and got some money, but we need to lie low for a while," pointed out Chase, the kid in the GNR sweatshirt that Zak had nearly jumped on.

"If we don't hurry, they might try something like that on Katie or Jade next," said Zak. "I'm not going to let that happen no matter what. We've got to send these bastards a message."

"What, that we're a bunch of teenagers that they could swarm easily? Easy, O Fearless One. Katie and I can take care of ourselves. We didn't get this far by caving in to every pervert that came a knockin'," Jade pointed out.

"Has anyone managed to fix the TV yet?" asked Joey.

"Yeah, I finally got it to work," answered Chase. "The picture is a little fuzzier, but hopefully that'll clear up in a day or two. Let's see what's on." He walked up to the TV and turned the dial(their TV was pretty damned old) and the six o'clock news, or, as Zak liked to call it, the "Bullshit propaganda clusterfuck hour" came on.

"Last night, Father's Museum of Art and Literature was bombed by terrorists. The explosion completely decimated the museum and damaged several other nearby buildings. Approximately forty five people have been killed. The perpetrators in this explosion are the two notorious terrorists Lady Madonna and Hellfire. They sent our studio this video a few hours ago."

A video appeared on the screen of two people dressed in armor, standing amidst the wreckage. One was wearing black armor and held a flamethrower with a fuel pack on his back, with grenades lining his belt. A helmet with a V-shaped gold tinted face plate completely covered his head. The other person wore dark violet armor and a black V shaped face plate on her helmet. She held two laser whips in her hands that glowed a pale red.

"Good evening, ladies and gents. As you all know, I'm Hellfire, and this is my lovely friend Lady Madonna," said the black armored man, gesturing towards his partner. "Today, we've burned Father's little propaganda house to the ground. Can't say I feel any remorse, but who knows, maybe it'll come later."

"We are waiting, Father. But we will not wait much longer. Come meet us head on, and we'll settle this once and for all. If you don't, then I promise you: We _will_ find you. Just keep that in mind," snarled Lady Madonna.

"We'll keep in touch," said Hellfire, bowing. He and Lady Madonna ignited their jet boots and took off.

"Remember, citizens, if you have any information on Hellfire or Lady Madonna, contact your local authorities immediately. It is imperative to the General Good of our country that these criminals are apprehended. That is all. Now we go to Kenneth Jones with the weather."

"See? _That's_ what we should be doing. Sending a message to those bastards. Spitting right in their fucking faces," growled Zak.

"Are you kidding me? You know how many innocent people got killed in that?" asked Katie. "You want us to be like them, to massacre people?"

"They're massacring us every day! How much longer do you think we can last until we do something? We've got to find a way to contact those guys," urged Zak.

"Forget it. We have no clue _how_ to contact them. Besides, what do we need those guys for? You think we've gotten soft or something?" countered Joey.

Zak grumbled and stormed off to his room. The place was covered in inch thick dust, the walls were cracked and the paint had peeled off long ago. His few belongings: his spy gear, some clothes, and some CD's were all piled in his tiny closet. He ignored the dust and collapsed on his creaky bed. Was life always like this? No, no it couldn't have been. Zak remembered sleeping in a comfortable bed, in a nice room, and actually having parents and siblings to greet him every morning. Wait. Did he have siblings? It had been so long he couldn't remember.

_You're not thinking straight, Zak. Just let it go. Whatever you had in that life, parents or brothers or sisters, that doesn't matter now. They're all dead. And if they're not, you don't care enough to find them. So fuck the past and start thinking about the future. That's something you can control._

"I'm guessing Zak doesn't want his dinner," said Jade, helping herself to his meal.

"We need to plan another raid. Zak's right, we've been biding our time for too long," announced Joey.

"Oh, great. Another raid. 'Cause Lord knows we didn't have enough fun on the last mission from hell. What are you planning this time, Joey?" asked Chase.

"Not sure, yet. Anyone have any ideas?" asked Joey.

"How about the armory?" asked Jade with a smirk.

"Ha ha. Right, any _realistic _ ideas?" queried Joey.

They remained silent for awhile. No one was sure how far they wanted to push themselves. A wrong decision meant death. And if they died, so did their dream of overthrowing Father and freeing America. It was a tricky situation. So, naturally, someone fell back on the old question–

"What would the Kids Next Door do?" asked Katie.

"Katie, that's not even relevant. The Kids Next Door is gone, and so is everyone that was in it. We live in a different time now, a different world. We can't keep thinking about what Nigel or Abby would do. That's only going to get us killed," argued Joey. "Besides, we're teenagers."

It was the old argument that Katie and Joey had had as far back as they could remember. Katie believed that the ideas of the Kids Next Door were timeless and could be applied in every difficult situation. It had been her dream to join Sector V one day and become an operative, and she had never let that dream die. Joey was convinced that the ideas of KND were hopelessly naive and would only lead to their downfall. So far, no one had really won the argument.

"Your brother was still a teenager when he was a member of the Kids Next Door," pointed out Katie. She had a point there, Wally was a teen next door.

"My brother is also dead. And so is every single one of his teammates. His teammates all tried to do things the Kids Next Door way. And they were all killed first. The only reason Wally survived as long as he did is because, even though he was a complete idiot, he was smart enough to know that he had to be ruthless if he was going to make a difference."

Katie fumed. She wasn't mad about Joey accusing Wally of ruthlessness. Katie herself was ruthless. She wasn't so naive as to act otherwise. But she always hated how Joey constantly put down his older brother, for no apparent reason. Why didn't he idolize him like nearly every other person?

"There's a reason why there aren't any operatives left. Once they were thrust in a world they weren't familiar with, they fell apart. The reason we've had any success at all is because we don't do things like the Kids Next Door. It's a different time, Katie," continued Joey.

"So we abandon the Kids Next Door? We abandon what they stood for, abandon ever trying to bring it back? We abandon your brother?" asked Katie.

"I told you, my brother is dead–"

"Because you're trying to kill his memory! What the hell is wrong with you, Joey? Just because you hate your brother, just because he's a bigger hero than you'll ever be, doesn't mean you should try to tarnish his memory to make yourself feel better!" Katie shouted.

Silence. Jade and Chase stared open mouthed at Katie. She had never talked to Joey like that. She'd yelled at him, sure, but over stupid things. Never for something like this. Katie's face was red, and she was breathing a little heavy. _Oh, God. What have I just done?_

Slowly, all eyes turned toward Joey. He was staring at the table, his thick brow hiding his eyes, so they couldn't see his reaction. He got up from the table and walked over to Katie without looking at her.

"You know, it's a shame you weren't there with Wally when he died," he whispered, a slight smile on his face. "You could've died right there with him, and I wouldn't have to hear your voice anymore." He walked past her and went right out the door.

Katie got up to go after him, when a voice stopped her. "Leave him. Joey's good at controlling his anger, but right now, I suspect he wants to kill you." Katie turned to find Zak staring at her, smiling. "Not that you wouldn't deserve it."

Joey was glad it wasn't raining. His blue hoodie was already soaked once today, and he had torn the sleeves out. He stared at himself through a puddle and smiled. An exact replica of his brother, minus the color of the sweatshirt and hairstyle. He'd often been asked by the others why he let himself look so much like Wally, why he didn't dye his hair or wear something besides sweatshirts. He told them it was because it got him a free meal occasionally.

He lied. It was because he loved Wally, more than any other person claimed to.

He kept walking along, not paying much attention to where he was heading. He noticed he was headed in the direction of the old water tower. He shrugged. Good a place as any. He climbed up the huge, decrepit tower and settled down on the top. Then he closed his eyes and let himself sleep.

"Glad you could make it, Wally," said Patton Divolsky, hailing the approaching Aussie. Wally was a wild card, an invaluable, but unreliable, ally.

"You chose the old fire station as headquarters, huh? Smart move, Patton," complimented Wally, peering around the fire station. Not too many people had arrived. It was probably better that way. They didn't need a bunch of idiots screwing up the plan.

"Most of the others have arrived already: Maurice, Fanny, Rachel, Herbie. We're still waiting on Cree and Chad, as well as your old teammates. Do you know when your friends are arriving?" asked Patton.

Wally grimaced and stared at the ground. "They're not. They're dead, Pat. Father got to them already."

The others gasped in shock. Sector V, gone? The greatest operatives of their generation had already been killed?

"That can't be," whispered Fanny, tears welling in her eyes. "Wally, how did...how did he get all of them so fast?"

"I dunno. They almost got me, too. If I hadn't been away from home when they attacked, I might not be alive either, sheila." A sniff came from behind Wally. The others peered around him and saw a little boy of about eight years clutching Wally's leg.

"Oh, christ, Wally," moaned Patton, covering his face with his hands, "why in God's name did you bring the kid along? Doesn't he know what this mission is about?"

"He knows it's a suicide mission, if that's what you mean," scoffed Wally. Leave it to Wally to put things bluntly. "And he wants to come along anyway. Hell, I couldn't stop him even if I wanted to."

"I want to fight!" exclaimed Joey, a mad glint in his eye.

"Just like his big brother. Isn't that sweet?" came a taunting voice. Chad was standing in the doorway, smiling. "Brother and brother dying together on the battlefield. Almost makes me wish I wasn't an only child."

"Look who showed up. Thought you were going to chicken out, traitor," growled Wally.

"Oh, come on, Wallabee. Are we going to let little things like that come between us? That was eight years ago. Besides, you know you love me," smirked Chad.

Wally let out a small laugh. "Never thought I'd see the day when you and I would work side by side. I guess that shows just how crazy things have gotten."

"Is Cree...?" asked Maurice cautiously.

"No clue. Her house has been blown to hell, but I didn't find any bodies. I assume she escaped. Why?" asked Chad.

"Wally says Abby and the others have already been killed," Patton explained softly.

"I see. Well, maybe Abby is dead, but Cree's too good to let herself get killed that easily," replied Chad.

"Damn straight." A tall, thin, and gorgeous black girl swaggered in after Chad. "Did you all think that I was gonna get killed just like that?"

"Cree!" exclaimed Fanny.

"I haven't been living at that house for weeks. Did Father really expect me to stick around for that long? This rebel doesn't die so easy," she smirked.

"She's dead, Cree. Your own sister was killed. Doesn't that bother you at all?" asked Wally, simmering. Cree stiffened and glared angrily at Wally.

"Anyways, enough of this crap. What's the plan, folks?" asked Chad.

"We already know the basics. Once we infiltrate the factory where Father's new war machines are being built, we blow it all to pieces. Plans, schematics, scientists, everything, so no one can build them ever again. That way, the Allied Forces in Europe have a shot at overthrowing Father," said Patton. He continued explaining the rest of the plan while Joey stared at Chad nervously. Wally had never liked Chad, and Joey was automatically wary of him. Chad leered back at him, and then interrupted Patton.

"So each squad infiltrates a different part of the factory. Right. Who's in each squad?" asked Chad.

"Well, A squad will have myself, Fanny, Herbie, and Rachel. B squad will be you, Wally, Maurice, Cree, and, um–"

"Joey," finished Wally.

"Right, Joey," sighed Patton.

Chad chuckled softly. "Sounds like fun."

(A/N) Well, I'm back. It's funny, I tried to upload this yesterday and the site acted like I didn't. Strange, huh? Well, hopefully it works this time. Sorry this took so long to write. The next chapter should be coming up son


	2. Martyrs

Martyrs

"So what's with the camera, Wally?" asked Chad. "You want everyone to watch us die?" The rebels had managed to hijack an army supply truck on their way to the base. They also took the soldiers' uniforms as an added bonus, in order to get in the base unnoticed. Joey, who was far too small for any uniform, had a small camera hidden on his hat.

"Yeah, I do. Cause if they see it, who knows. Maybe they'll try something too," replied Wally.

Chad laughed in reply. "You're still naive, Wally. Ninety five percent of the world is made of cowards. The other five percent is made of idiots like us. And have you even thought about how the kid's gonna get out of this alive? It's not like he has a junior size army uniform to hide in." Joey gulped softly and stared at the ground.

Maurice glanced disapprovingly at Chad and then turned to Joey. "Don't worry, Joey. You're going to be fine, all right? Nothing to worry about." Joey simply glared at him and then resumed staring at the ground. Maurice was a little shocked.

"He knows you're lying to him, Maurice. He's not stupid," growled Wally. Maurice turned red

and looked away, staring at the back of the truck.

Wally couldn't understand it. Why was everyone treating Joey like a little kid? He was wise for his age, and he knew what he had gotten himself into. He was a smart kid, far smarter than he was at that age. So why didn't the others get it? Wally looked at his little brother and then the realization hit him. His brother _was_ a little kid. He was clearly trembling, afraid of dying, afraid of everything. It didn't matter how smart he was. He was still just eight years old. That's when Wally made a promise to himself. _No matter what, Joey, you're going to get out of this alive. I swear it._

Joey had a cloaking device strapped onto him. It's battery life didn't last for very long, but it

was the best they could do. For a short while, Joey would be invisible, taping the whole scene. But that wouldn't be for long.

They approached the base where the factory was located. The guards stopped them briefly. Chad explained that they were carrying supplies for the new weapon, and the guard told them to hurry through. He seemed strangely nervous, and didn't even ask for a password. Something was definitely up, but Wally couldn't quite put his finger on it.

"It's a trap," said Maurice. "They should have asked for a password, at least. This is the most heavily guarded base in the state. Which makes me wonder, who's the one that betrayed us?"

"Fuck off, you little prick," growled Chad. "If I had wanted to betray you, I could've given Father the coordinates to your headquarters and blown you all to pieces. I've said it once and I'll say it again, Father and I are through."

"We don't have ties to him anymore, Maurice, so stop," ordered Cree. "You really think we'd stay with Father after what he's done to Cleveland? Besides, you saw how nervous that guard was. He wasn't planning anything, he just forgot."

"But why? What's going on that's making him so nervous?" asked Wally. No one answered. Wally stared out the window and noticed that the base had an unusually large amount of aircraft on it. _What the hell could that be for?_ thought Wally. _It doesn't make any strategic sense, where are they planning on having an air strike? Kansas?_

Chad parked the car near their main goal, the factory that had been built inside the base. That's where Father's war machines were being produced. The crew had no idea what the

machines were, but they knew that the Allies in Europe didn't stand a chance if they were mass produced. Joey turned on his cloaking device and climbed out of the car with the others. He shakily made his way inside the factory, nervously following his older brother.

When they got inside, they automatically realized their intelligence was faulty. Father wasn't building war machines. He had only built one. One really, really big one. The machine that stood in the middle of the factory was essentially a giant humanoid robot, something straight out of one of the anime shows Joey watched. It wasn't painted, but the spies couldn't help but admire it's beauty. It was about fifteen meters tall, had two missile launchers on each leg, machine guns located at the shoulders, and vulcans on the head. Those were just the visible weapons; Wally didn't even want to think about how many hidden weapons there were, not to mention all the weapons that were still being built for it.

"Hey, Wally, I'd hate to interrupt, but we have to destroy this thing, remember?" asked Chad, interrupting Wally from his reverie.

"Right," agreed, Wally, shaking himself out of his stupor. He noticed that A Squad had already left to the other side of the factory. The goal was simple: Attach bombs to the four oil dispensers fueling the machine, and then get the hell out of there. Wally had actually expected it to be much, much harder, but he noticed everyone in the factory was strangely nervous; scientists were huddled together making calculations, and mechanics were busy looking over the robot. They were so absorbed in their work that they barely noticed he was there.

"Everyone, hurry up and find something to hold on to!" called out a mechanic. "The test is going to begin soon, and I don't want anyone to get hurt!"

"A test?" Cree whispered. "What the hell are they talking about?"

"I don't know, but I don't like it. Let's get the hell out of here before it happens," said Wally. Cree, you go with Maurice and get the northeast oil drum, Chad and I will take the northwest."

"Well, then I guess this is where we say goodbye, Cree," smirked Chad. "Try to leave me

something to bury when you get killed."

"If I die, then I'm taking you with me, tough guy," purred Cree. She grabbed him by the shirt and pulled him in for a kiss.

"Excuse me, but we're trying NOT to be conspicuous!" growled Wally. Cree let go of Chad and left with Maurice to plant the charges on the northeast oil drum. Chad laughed silently to himself and moved to the northwest drum.

"Never fall in love, Joey," muttered Wally. "They'll only break your heart." Joey was a little surprised by this. It wasn't Kuki's fault that she had been killed. It's not like she opened the door and let them shoot her. But, it was like his brother to hold stupid grudges. If he survived this, he's probably hold that grudge for the rest of his life.

Wally and Chad quickly set the charges on the oil drum. Wally felt something flick the back of his head and he quickly turned around to see what it was. He spied Rachel hanging from the top of the ceiling, using specialized suction pads to stay put. She was hanging to the ceiling with one hand and held a spit ball straw in another. She gave him a thumbs up and moved back to the other side of the factory.

Wally smiled. Some things never change. He turned to Chad and told him the news. "A Squad's just finished. After Maurice and Cree are done, we need to get follow A Squad and get out of here."

"Let's leave now, Wally. Cree and Maurice can take care of themselves, there's no point in sticking around for them."

Wally opened his mouth to answer when a loud rumbling shook the room. It was so violent that Chad was thrown ten feet away; Wally, luckily, grabbed part of the oil drum before he could be tossed. The sound was so loud that Wally felt like his head was going to split open. After a few minutes, the rumbling finally stopped. Chad picked himself up off of the ground and moved shakily towards Wally.

"I didn't know we were having an earthquake today," he muttered.

"That wasn't an earthquake. Couldn't have been. Chad, I think that was the test they were talking about," said Wally.

"And what in God's name did they just test?" asked Chad.

"I don't know, and I don't want to know. They may have fired off some giant cannon or something. We have to get out of here, now. We can't wait for the others, things might get a hell of a lot worse."

A procession of soldiers suddenly marched into the factory. Leading the soldiers was the most powerful villain Wally had ever fought: Father. Wally's mouth went dry and he felt a lump in his throat. He felt a shiver run down his spine, a shiver of excitement. He wanted so badly to fight Father and pay him back for all the suffering he caused. But he knew that the important thing was getting his brother out alive.

"Come on, Joey, we're leaving," said Wally. "Joey?" He stood frozen in horror as he realized his mistake. He had know clue where his little brother was.

"Chad, you have to help me look for Joey, I don't know where he is!" he hissed.

"How are we supposed to find him, he's fucking invisible!"

"Children of Father! What a glorious day this is for our country!" shouted Father. He was giving a little speech to all of the scientists, mechanics, and soldiers gathered at the factory.

"This amazing creation will soon become the most feared war machine ever created! The Allies in Europe stand no chance against our forces. We shall crush them all! We will conquer each nation to create a new empire, the Empire of Father!"

The soldiers cheered loudly. Emboldened by their cheers, Father continued his speech, even more enthusiastic that before.

"This is the beginning of a new age. Never before has there been a fortress as magnificent as this, and never before has a fortress ever flown through the sky!"

Wally's mouth fell open. Now he understood. The test that took place wasn't the first salvo from a giant cannon. They turned the base into a floating fortress. He looked even more furiously for his brother, but he knew it was in vain. How was he supposed to find something that was invisible? Chad kept trying to talk him out of it, but Wally ignored him, as well as the odd stares he was getting from nearby soldiers. Meanwhile, Father continued his speech, pacing back and forth.

"This is a day for celebration! A day for rebirth! A day for–" Father tripped and fell flat on his face. He got up quickly and saw a small boy quivering at his feet. Joey's cloak had just ran out of power. Father stared stupidly at him, momentarily stunned at what had just happened.

"Joey!" screamed Wally. He ran as fast as he could over to them, trying to save his little brother. Chad chased after him.

Father smiled as the realization hit him. He clenched his fist and formed a giant fireball around it. "Beatles! I was hoping I could kill you myself!" Father couldn't have asked for a more perfect situation; Wally was running straight at him, too fast to dodge anything thrown his way.

"This is the end for you, Walla–" Father crashed to the floor as Rachel drop kicked him from behind. Patton, Fanny, and Herbie all dropped in and began attacking the soldiers.

"Wally, get the kid out of here!" roared Patton. Wally nodded and scooped up Joey, running as fast as he could to the exit.

"Make sure you stay alive, Aussies!" yelled Fanny, her Irish blood boiling in the intense fight. She gave a reassuring smile over to Joey. A moment later, she took a bullet in the head.

"No!" cried Joey. He was facing the opposite direction of his brother, and watched in horror as the remaining Kids Next Door went down one by one. Herbie, not used to fighting, went down before long. Patton fought like a madman, taking on several soldiers at once, but a torrent of bullets hit his body, killing him. Rachel, the former leader of the Kids Next Door, managed to kill nine soldiers before she was shot from behind. Meanwhile, an enraged Father ran after his prey with inhuman speed. He was gaining fast on Wally, and was only a few yards from firing distance.

"This time you're mine, you wretched piece of–" Chad tackled Father to the ground before he could attack.

"Wally, go! I can't fight him and watch your ass at the same time!" Chad shouted. Wally was shocked. Chad was actually helping someone other than himself. He didn't have time to process that thought. He took Chad's advice and ran even faster than before.

Father escaped Chad's grip and punched him across the face. "I am SICK and TIRED of being interrupted today!" Father bellowed. He grabbed Chad's face, clutching it in his flaming hand. Chad screamed in agony as his face started to burn off.

"Chad!" screamed Joey, tears running madly down his face. Why did this have to happen? Why were all of these people dying?

Wally burst through the door and ran into open air. He saw that the base was indeed amongst the clouds now. He gulped in shock. They actually managed to pull it off. This was their secret weapon. Not a robot, but a base that could attack from the sky. The Allies didn't stand a chance. Wally remembered the charges planted in the factory. He set Joey down and took the detonator out of his hands.

Wally sighed deeply and let a single tear escape his eyes. Then he pressed the detonation switch. He and Joey were knocked off their feet. Wally rose quickly and looked at the remnants of the factory. It was consumed in flames. That was enough. With Father dead, his forces would fall apart. Wally turned away when a loud rumbling emanated from the factory.

"No," Wally whispered.

The rumbling grew louder, and he could hear the screech of metal on metal. Wally saw a large, metal arm punch through the wreckage. He stood in shock as he saw the robot Father's forces created climb through the remains of the factory. The robot lumbered toward them, and Wally was too shocked to even move. Joey stared at it with a sense of wonder, not yet realizing that it meant their imminent doom. The front hatch of the robot opened, and Father leaped out of it, his eyes bright with glee.

"How do you like the new invention, Beatles?" asked Father. "It runs like a dream. Nothing can stop this thing. I can't wait till we mass produce them."

"How?" asked Wally "How did you survive?"

"I hopped in before you blew up my factory. This thing's nearly indestructible. It'll take more than that to destroy it." Father clenched his fist tightly and swirled fire around it. He breathed in deeply, letting the fire grow larger and larger.

"I could kill you with one shot. That's all it would take." Then the fire suddenly disappeared from his hand.

"But I'd rather take this slowly. I want to enjoy it, Beatles. I want to hear you scream." Father moved in a blur toward Wally. Before he could even blink, Father's sunk his fist deep into Wally's stomach. He let out a gasp of pain as the wind was knocked out of him. Joey's mouth fell open in horror. Father grabbed Wally by the shoulders and thrusted his knee into his face. Wally reeled back, trying to ignore the throbbing pain in his broken nose.

"Joey, run! Get the hell out of here! I can–" His words were cut off as Father swung his fist into Wally's face, cracking his jaw. Father aimed blow after blow at Wally's head, laughing madly as he heard the bones breaking, as he saw handsome Wally's face become disfigured. He was barely conscious. There was so much blood; he felt so dizzy.

"This is victory! Beating your opponent so thoroughly that you can't even recognize him. Oh, I've waited years for this, Wallabee," cackled Father. "Ever since the day we met."

He grabbed Wally by the throat and lifted him into the air. Wally's head fell back, and he saw that his brother was a safe enough distance away. _He's still watching me, the little idiot. Should be trying to escape right now. _A weak smile came to his lips.

"Do you have any last words, _Number 4_?" asked Father, giggling.

"Yeah. You're a fuckin' idiot," growled Wally. He ripped off part of the jacket he was wearing to reveal a bomb strapped onto his body. Father's and Joey's eyes simultaneously widened in shock. Wally smirked as he rammed his fist against the bomb, sending both him and Father into oblivion.

The explosion was huge. Although the bomb was small in size, the force of the explosion was so powerful that it actually knocked the robot off of it's feet. Joey was thrown back as well, considerably farther than the robot. He was nearly knocked unconscious from the blast.

He rose to his feet slowly. He felt so cold inside. His brother, all of his friends...they were all dead. And the strange thing was, for some reason, he couldn't even cry. He just felt numb. _What's wrong with me? Why don't I feel anything?_ The sound of approaching soldiers shook him from his thoughts. A swarm of soldiers were running fast toward the factory, and there was no way to outrun them. He saw the robot ahead of him, lying flat on its back. There was only one thing to do.

He ran at the robot as fast as he could. He climbed up one of the legs and ran towards the cockpit in the middle. This was his only chance. He dived into the cockpit and landed against the cold steel seat. He randomly pressed buttons, trying to make the robot work. The shouts of the soldiers were getting louder; they realized that he was in the cockpit.

"Work, you stupid machine! Work! Work!" He flailed his arms madly, attempting to hit every button he could find, and trying to convince himself that it would work somehow.

"Do something, dammit!" he cried, slamming his fist on a button in front of him. Suddenly, the hatch to the cockpit closed, and a safety harness automatically fastened itself against Joey's small body. Out of sheer luck, he had managed to turn on the autopilot. Of course, Joey didn't know that, and he was even more scared than before. The robot rose to its feet, humming softly. A display screen lit up directly in front of Joey, and he could see the soldiers and the base. The soldiers panicked and fired on the robot, scaring Joey even more. A monotone voice echoed inside the robot.

"Autopilot activated. Targets recognized and acquired. Preparing to eliminate." Joey watched in horror as the robot began firing upon the soldiers, killing them quickly.

"No! No, stop! I just want to get out of here!" shouted Joey. There were soldiers from all over the base trying to destroy him, and they were all being slaughtered without effort. Joey had never seen such carnage before. He had never been in battle, never seen so many lose their lives. The robot moved forward slowly, destroying everything within its sights. It had now deemed the entire base a threat, and began firing its missiles to destroy it. Joey threw up inside the cockpit. He was starting to go insane from the pressure.

All of the bases defenses were being turned toward Joey. The airplanes Wally had noticed before had taken off and were now attacking Joey in formation. The robot slowly acquired them and then blew them apart. The monotone voice spoke once again.

"Warning. Damage total exceeding fifty percent. Retreat will commence in T-minus sixty," it announced.

Joey barely heard the announcement. He was shaking in fear, trying to ignore the screams coming from outside. His heart was pounding furiously against his chest, and he worried what might happen if this went on much longer. "Wally will protect me, Wally will protect me, Wally will protect me," he chanted. His brother wasn't dead. This was just a bad dream. Wally would wake him up, like he always did when he was quivering from a bad dream. Everything would be fine.

"Commencing retreat now," announced the robot. Joey opened his eyes and saw the base was in flames. The floating fortress that Father had praised was a wreck. The robot activated the jet pack attached to it, and flew away from the fortress. The little boy inside breathed a sigh of relief. It was over.

A large blast shook Joey in his seat. The safety harness was so loose on him that he nearly bumped his head against the cockpit. A missile had hit the robot in the back, near the jet pack, and now it was severely damaged.

"Warning. Jet pack damaged. Attempting crash landing." Joey grabbed onto the safety harness as tightly as he could and braced for himself for the landing. Naturally, the landing was far, far worse than he even imagined. He was tossed against the cockpit, breaking his shoulder. The pain was unbearable; he had never been hurt so much in his life. He cried out for his parents, for Wally, for anyone to come and help him. That's when he remembered the talk Wally had given him earlier today.

"Look, Joey, me and the others aren't gonna be able to look out for you, right? So ya gotta take care of yourself. You're on your own, understand?"

"I understand, Wally," replied Joey.

"And...you _still_ want to come with us? It's a suicide mission, mate. I told you I dunno how many times," said an exasperated Wally.

"If I'm gonna be in the Kids Next Door, I've got to be brave. I can just sit and let others do all the work. And I can't let my brother fight on his own. I promise, I'll take care of myself!"

Wally smiled at his brother. "You're almost as stupid as I was at your age. And I couldn't be prouder."

It felt like it was so long ago. But it had been less than a day. Less than a day ago, his brother was alive. Telling him how proud he was. What would he think of him now, moaning for help, crying like a baby? Joey became determined to make it. He was a survivor. That would be his role for the rest of his life. The survivor.

He started pressing random buttons again, hoping to get the hatch opened. After a few seconds he succeeded. The fresh, cold air breezed through the cockpit. It made him feel alive, and gave him a sense of self awareness. The robot had crashed into a forest. It was going to be a long walk back to Cleveland. Joey unbuckled the straps but held on tightly. It was a long way down. Slowly, he climbed his way down the robot until he felt it was safe to jump. The robot was in a kneeling position, propped up by a few large pine trees. He was lucky it hadn't landed face down. That would would have been a real mess.

He could see the base still flying in the air. The flames blazed brightly in the starry sky. It was flying downward, and was going to crash any minute. For a moment, it looked like a shooting star.

He took off the cap on his head. Miraculously, the camera hadn't been destroyed. Joey made a solemn vow to himself. One day, he would show this video to everyone in the entire world. They would all know the sacrifice his brother and his friends made that day. And once they say the video the people would rebel against Father's henchmen. And they would win. His brother would not die in vain.

"Joey? Joey, wake up. This isn't the best place to fall asleep. If you get hypothermia, I'm not going to bury you."

Joey opened his eyes and saw a golden haired angel standing before him. Then he realized it was Katie. Damn.

He yawned and rose to his feet. "I fell asleep on the water tower? You know, that seems rather stupid of me," he observed.

"Gee, you think?" said Katie. Her expression softened and she placed a hand on his shoulder, the same one he had broken seven years ago from today. "Joey, listen, I _am_ sorry. I didn't mean what I said. I know how much you cared about Wally. I just...got too angry."

"It's fine," he said, moving away so her hand wouldn't touch his shoulder. "You know, you're a lot more like my brother than I am. So I guess stupid little outbursts like that should be expected."

"Oh, thanks, Joey. You're all heart," she grumbled. He turned around and smiled at her, and she smiled back. It was one of the rare times that they were in perfect harmony, one of the rare times when they both realized they were in love.

The moment passed. Joey climbed down from the water tower, and Katie followed. Once again, nothing happened. Joey knew he didn't have time for things like teenage romance. Soon, he would forget whatever feelings he held just a moment ago. Such things were common in times like these. War is a destructive thing indeed.

* * *

(A/N) Wow. This took me about three months longer to upload than I thought. And I'm still not pleased with it. Of course, having my computer destroy the story halfway through didn't help either. But still, that's no excuse. Sorry to those who were looking forward to an earlier update. Life has been stressful, and I don't have as much free time as I did before. But hey, if all goes well, I'll be attending Columbia University in a few years! Still, no excuse. Thanks to lovebird for reminding me about this. The chapter "Martyrs" is dedicated to you.

Also, for those of you wondering, Father and Wally and all the KND members ARE dead. And they aint coming back, except for a flashback or two. I think I pulled off Wally's last words nicely, though.


End file.
